Tidewater Terminal Company

About Us

In 1932, Lew Russell, Sr., became interested in the river transportation of industrial commodities and began renting steam-powered sternwheel ships to move customer products from port to port. Throughout the ensuing years Lew set the framework of Tidewater Barge Lines and ten years later, in 1942, the Tidewater-Shaver Transportation Company was established. In 1960, Tidewater became a full-fledged, independent tug and barge transportation company under the name of Tidewater Barges Lines.

In 1951, Ray Hickey got a job as a deck hand on a Tidewater tugboat. After spending his first four years on the Leland James, Ray transferred to the ocean division and became the chief engineer on the Tillamook, Tidewater’s first ocean-going tugboat. In 1967, Ray became the operations manager of the ocean division and then was promoted to general manager in 1970, overseeing both ocean and river operations. He became president of Tidewater in 1977.